There are excellent advanced brewing texts available, but here are a few recommendations for a beginning to intermediate homebrewers.

In the beginning, I'd devour "How to Brew" by John Palmer. That's probably the key reference book that covers what most homebrewer's need to know.

It's starting to get a little dated, but "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels is an excellent education in designing recipes.

If you want a solid recipe book, "Brewing Classic Styles" by John Palmer and Jamil Zainacheff will give you a good recipe for every style.

If you are interested in dabbling in traditional German brewing methods, "New Brewing Lager Beer" by Gregory Noonan is a good introduction to those and brewing Lager beers, of course.

"Yeast" by Chris White and Zainacheff is also a good summary of information on yeast handling and fermentation practices.

Some of the style guides are quite good, too, but they are a little hit or miss. If you find yourself particularly interested in a more exotic style, I'd consider getting the appropriate style guide to get a good understanding of the history of that style and some understanding of how brewers have made it successfully.

I have to agree with John Palmer's book as the top pick for someone who is just starting out with this thing. The "How To Brew" book would cover lightly a lot of topics with emphasis on the stuff that you need to actually get you going.

Well that will also depend on what stuff you have so that you could tailor cut what materials you need to what you are inclined to do.